Judge tosses Apple's 'false advertising' claim against Amazon

Part of Apple's App Store court case has been tossed out of the courtroom, a judge ruling that 'false advertising' cannot be used as a claim against online retailer Amazon.

According to Reuters, U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton ruled in Oakland, California that Apple cannot use the claim of "false advertising" within its complaint, dismissing the idea that Amazon is using the term "App Store" to try and confuse consumers into thinking that somehow the online retailer's Android store is somehow affiliated with Apple's iOS variant.

Where Amazon views the term "App Store" as too generic to be trademarked, Apple believes that as it set the mark for the concept of a mobile application store, the iPad and iPhone maker should control the term and subsequent advertising.

Instead, Hamilton ruled that the term "App Store" has become generic enough that the term does not necessarily correlate solely with Apple anymore, and so there was no substantial evidence to back up the claim of false advertising or claims. Apple's hope was that Amazon would eventually be forced to remove the term from its mobile app marketplace.

Amazon requested a partial summary judgement over Apple's allegations of false advertising, which was granted. Hamilton wrote in her partial summary ruling:

"Apple has failed to establish that Amazon made any false statement, express or implied, of fact that actually deceived or had the tendency to deceive a substantial segment of its audience. The mere use of 'Appstore' by Amazon to designate a site for viewing and downloading/purchasing apps cannot be construed as a representation that the nature, characteristics, or quality of the Amazon Appstore is the same as that of the Apple App Store."

In addition, Apple has brought other complaints to the table, including trademark infringement within the mobile application store. A trial for the remaining claims is scheduled for August this year.